Lights Shine Brighter in the Dark
by Allister Crow
Summary: Jaune's moved on since Beacon fell, but the death of his best friend still haunts him in his nightmares. One night, he bumps into Blake while on a stroll in the forest, and they have a heartfelt talk.


**_So uh, hi. This is my first fanfiction that I've decided to actually publish rather than just write for my own personal enjoyment. That means do NOT go easy on me. Light me up with every mistake I make. Hopefully my skills will develop as a writer as I release more one shots and possibly_** **_longer stories._**

_Jaune sat, his fingers gently brushing over his guitar. He strummed a few lonely notes before stopping, his fingers gently laid to rest on his lap. Sadness stirred in his heart like a raging wildfire in the middle of the ocean. A confliction of emotions set ablaze by the twisting hurricane that was his heart._

_Suddenly he was falling... Falling into a never ending pit of darkness. Descending further and further into madness with each passing moment. His head filled with dark thoughts that shot down his spine as he kept falling further and further into the shadowy chasm._

_Then he saw her..._

_Pyrrha. A beacon of light in a realm of eternal darkness. Desperation filled Jaune as he moved towards her, but she just seemed to get further and further away with every step he took. He began to run... He could feel it! He was getting closer! She stood, her arm extended, waiting for him! And just as he extended his own arm to grab hers... She flickered away in an instant, any trace of her once being there faded like a distant memory._

Jaune shot up out of his bed, breathing in multiple sporadic breaths before finally calming down. He glanced over to his sleeping teammates, watching as they peacefully rested. Ren then caught his eye... Or rather, Ren's empty bed caught his eye. He chuckled a rather quiet chuckle, attempting not to wake his friends... They'd stopped in a hotel not too long ago just to get a little bit of shut-eye, he'd rather not ruin that.

As quietly as he could, Jaune left the room and headed off into a rather small glade in the forest just beyond the village. He stared up into the tranquil air, watching the broken moon make its slow journey across the black sky. He took a deep breath and just sat in the center of the glade, collecting his thoughts, trying to make sense of everything that led up to this moment in time... Then he closed his eyes.

_Pitch black... Jaune recognized this dark setting, it was becoming quite the common occurrence for him. He knew he was falling for what seemed to be an eternity, but he also knew that this eternity would only last a second. His momentum stopped, as well as his heart, for there she was again._

_"Pyrrha..." He whispered, looking at the girl in golden clad armor..._

_No matter how many times he'd go through this, he was never quite prepared to see her again. Every time he'd try and get closer, and every time he'd fall for the same damn lie._

_"Jaune..." She whispered back to him..._

_He froze, out of all the times this had happened to him, she'd never spoken back to him... Most the time she'd barely made an attempt to even acknowledge him. But now, of all times, she spoke, even if just his name... She actually spoke._

_"I'm so... I'm so sorry Pyrrha." Jaune fumbled as he struggled to articulate his feelings._

_Her response was the same... "Jaune."_

_"Pyrrha... I-" She cut him off..._

_"Jaune!"_

Jaune snapped back into reality, he saw the barely visible shadow of a woman being cast from the moonlight behind him. He shot up and spun around with incredible speed and gripped the girl's wrists.

"Blake?" Jaune's mind found it's way back to reality, "Oh my god! Blake! I'm sorry!" His grip immediately loosened before he let go of her arm entirely.

Blake frowned, "It's okay..." She paused, "Are you okay?"

Jaune hesitated, "Yeah... I'm fine." He faked the best smile he could.

Blake saw through him almost instantly, "Jaune..." She said with a level of sternness in her voice.

Jaune dropped the facade, his mind dulled as his smile fell. "Look... I'd rather not talk about it."

Blake frowned, "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to... But I'm here if you need me."

Jaune smiled once more, "I appreciate the concern... But really I'm fine..." He frowned. "It just... It hurts sometimes. I... I still think about that night. Gods, it feels like it was yesterday. When she kissed me I... Just knew she wasn't coming back. I, ah..."

Jaune scratched the back of his neck.

"I'm sorry. That just kind of came out."

Blake's features twisted into a frown. She sat down and gently tapped the empty space next to her.

"Sit down, let's talk about something, anything to take your mind off of this."

Jaune nodded, sitting next to the partially feline woman with a smile.

"Well what's there to talk about? My life is basically a twisting amalgam of depression." He joked.

His face turned to a frown.

"I've been having nightmares since I lost her. Most nights I have them, and they're always the same. I'm falling into a dark abyss of nothing, all alone. Then I see her, Pyrrha, so close yet so far, I call her name and then I awake. Remembering that she's still gone for good."

Blake nodded. "I understand that. I can't say I necessarily understand how you feel, but I know what it's like to lose people. That twisting in your heart. I'm all too familiar with it."

"Thank you..." Jaune chuckled. "I needed that."

Then he leaned forward, an eyebrow perked up.

"How about this one... Picture you're a 19 year old male, surrounded by a ton of beautiful females that are all your age, but you know that you'll never be good enough for any of them."

"I wouldn't say that." She knew he'd been joking, but she retorted with a chuckle nonetheless. "Is there someone in specific here that catches your attention?"

"Hmm, well. She wears dark colors with some white. Black hair with eyes that sparkle like an ocean of gold. A beautiful smile that she rarely shows, accompanied by a laugh that could make my heart explode... Twice." He paused, lifting two fingers to exaggerate his statement. "Do I need to continue?"

"No, I think I get the point..." She smirked. "How do you know if this woman likes you back?"

"I don't, but I think she's now noticed that I fancy her, so perhaps she'll let me down easy if she doesn't."

"She might have to." Blake responded.

"Mhm... Maybe I'll just have to move on then." Jaune accepted her response.

"But..." Blake started, her voice smooth and full of lust. "Maybe she doesn't want to."

Jaune's eyes widened as she pressed her cheek to his shoulder, resting her hands on his chest.

"Maybe she's been secretly smitten with you for a long time. Perhaps she's just been too scared to say anything."

She repositioned and sat sideways in his lap, he supported her by cupping the small of her back with a hand, placing the other on her outer thigh. She wrapped her arm around his back and the other laid out gently across her own stomach. They laid there for a few minutes in silence. Before Jaune broke the quiet air.

"Can I kiss you?" He asked, leaning his head closer to hers.

"That depends. How much experience do you have with kissing?"

"Not even a little." They both chuckled.

"That's good enough for me."

Jaune nodded and swiftly moved in, claiming her lips. His eyes closed as he did, feeling her warmth, tasting the blackberry in her lips. She slid her free hand up his side, repositioning her lips as they rubbed against his. She pulled away slightly to speak. He continued to slide his hand from her thigh to the back of her knee as she did so.

"Let me take the lead." She spoke softly as she slid both hands up his waist.

He nodded, and she pressed her lips against his once more. She pulled away and sealed their lips again, then did it once more. This time she melded her lips with his, sliding her tongue against his teeth, biting his lip as she pulled away. She stopped a centimeter short of his lips as she went to kiss him again. She exhaled softly, bathing him with her breath as she moved downwards, pressing her lips to his neck. She moved back up, lips still pressed to him, stopping on his lips. Then she slid her tongue across his lips, he took the queue to grant her a warm entry into his mouth. Then he pushed back, knotting his tongue on hers, battling for dominance, all while their lips slammed against each other as the kiss grew more and more passionate. Jaune lowered her gently to the floor, then straddled her. She instantly flipped them so she was on top, pulling away to slide her coat off, revealing the rest of her sleeveless tank top.

"I'm in charge remember?" Blake smirked.

Jaune reached up and grabbed her shoulder, turning them around and getting on top.

"Well I think it's time for a change in command..." He spoke.

"Now you're getting the hang of this."

Jaune kissed her again, sliding his hand up to her hips and then to her breasts. He gently grazed them as he cupped her cheek. Then he pulled away.

"We should slow down. Can't do it all in one night or we might get bored of each other." He joked.

Blake smiled.

"Only if you promise to sleep with me tonight. In the normal way of course."

Jaune rolled his eyes.

"Deal." He pecked her lips.

They stood and walked back to the village, hand clenched in hand as they went. Jaune smiled to himself and stared at her smiling face.

_What a night..._

**Thanks for the read. Again, light me up with any thoughts on things I can improve. I know this was pretty short but I feel pretty good about the senseless romance. (I'll be writing a lot of it. No smut though, not my thing.) I know my pacing and sentence structure can use work so please give me feedback on anything I can fix. See you guys around and thank you for staying.**


End file.
